Evangelicals Have Always Been a Big Tent
American Evangelicalism has become equated with overwhelmingly white congregations and Republican politics. Even though there are progressive white Evangelicals, Latino and Black Evangelicals, and Evangelical churches around the world, the Evangelical church in America is by and large not diverse—and shrinking. We hear a lot of one-dimensional news stories about this in the media, but the stats support the narrative.
Which begs the question, what do you do when you love someone who is flawed? The church is a living body, and the comparison is apt. If I love a deeply flawed person, I don’t leave them. I am loyal to them. When would I leave? If I had experienced harm, or possibly if someone I love has been harmed.
The Christian Family Tree, a quick and incomplete sketch.
The way I’ve always pictured Evangelicals fitting in Christian family tree looks like this: up top, there’s Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant. If you draw a line under Protestant, you’ve got Evangelicals, Reformed, Pentecostals, Liberal Protestants (i.e. PCUSA, ELCA), and Anabaptists. There are others, but that’s a broad categorization.
I’ve been a Presbyterian for 15 years, in the Reformed camp, but I’ve always subconsciously lumped myself under the Evangelical umbrella. Probably because it’s how I was raised.
If I’m honest, I’ve never felt especially connected to the term Evangelical, but it’s what I knew through my early-20s. I am not avoiding that term because of the social currency it costs to identify as an Evangelical in 2020. I’ve also never felt especially connected to Reform traditions.
I think that’s because for me, and a lot of us, I’m connected to the particular church I attend.
In my late teens and early 20s, it was a CMA church led by a hippie pastor influenced by the Jesus Movement. I loved that community with fervor. In Seattle, it’s Grace—where I’m a deacon and have learned about the beauty of liturgy and contemplative practices—and I’m loyal to that community.
Within the larger conversation about Evangelicals leaving the church, is anyone else wondering where they fit into the picture? Because a layer deeper than the media stereotype of a monolithic, politically-charged entity, I could tell you about so many generative, life-changing Evangelical men and women I’ve seen serve in potent ways throughout my life.
Evangelicals have always been a big tent. Young people in that tent are leaving, and the people who remain tend to look a lot like each other. But for me, to try to pull the top down doesn’t serve anyone well when there’s a need to repair holes, even gaping tears.
Many have left the church after being harmed or threatened because of their gender, sexuality, and politics. I’m not in judgement of anyone who’s left church.
But I’m calling out to whoever hears: please don’t leave Jesus. The living out of the Christian life is always intended to be in community. If you leave a church where you’ve been harmed, find another body of people loving God in wild times, praying for renewal and practicing direct service. And Evangelical friends, let’s be the builders and the menders.